When an Orthodox Christian person falls asleep in Christ, the priest should be contacted immediately to come to perform the Trisagion Service (which means Thrice Holy, referring to the way this service begins, with “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, etc.) and sprinkle the body with the holy water.  This is the first step of many, in order to give the person a dignified and respectful send-off to the Bosom of Abraham.

After this, the body should be taken to the morgue, and prepared for the funeral. The family will make arrangements with the priest for the date and time of the funeral and let him know if they wish for him to announce this to the entire Parish.

Make sure to have all the 3 parties involved in the setting up of the date and time of the arrangements:

• The Church
• The Funeral Home
• The Cemetery (the cemetery could be different from the Funeral Home)

 

It is also acceptable to have another Trisagion Service, on the Eve before the Funeral, also known as the  Viewing. This is also an opportunity for the family member to say their remembrances of the departed. And for the friends who could not attend the funeral on a working day, to pass their respect and their condolences on the eve of the funeral day.

The Funeral Prayer Service For The Departed is then performed on the next day. This takes about 45 minutes. Then, the body is transported to the burial site, where another Trisagion Service is performed at the grave site.

• Spiritual Bouquets:
  • Relatives and friend would like to honor the departed or show support to the family by offering flowers at the funeral. These flowers would be resting on top of the grave and will be lost.
  • The idea of offering a spiritual bouquet instead of the physical flowers bouquets, is done via a donation made to the church under “Spiritual Bouquet donation” amounting to the cost of that bouquet of flowers.
  • these spiritual bouquets amounts will go to a fund related to the building fund, but will be used for the beautification of the church under a project that will hold the name of the departed and his family. That project will be agreed upon and decided between the family and the Pastor.
  • If the family accepts to receive spiritual bouquets instead of flowers, please let the Pastor know and it will be announced within the funeral announcement.
• If you want to host a coffee hour or a mercy meal, at church, kindly contact Mrs. Fairouz Fakhoury for setup and arrangements.

 

For any further questions on this process, please contact the Pastor